I want to correct something in my letter and be up front about it. I think I made an "opps" on the money statement, and I apologize. My bad, I should have known better than to bring up money. The real anger should be over the loss of 3,000 members, and no one will likely contest that number. But MONEY, that gets people's blood boiling. When I wrote that there was $3 million in 2001 it was a side thought, a figure that was just stuck in my head from somewhere - I don't remember where or who - and didn't seem to me to be all that important other than to point out that it is all going downhill.
The Blue Beret's financial statements aren't going to help me out either. The year end statements in the Blue Berets from Sept 1999 and Sept 2009 (to make a fairer comparison) are a little difficult to interpret because they don't compare line by line. For instance, the 1999 report lists the Life member fund ($265,319) both as an "Asset" and as "Equity," but in 2009 it is listed as a "Dedicated Fund" ($196,760). What's the bottom line then?
I'm not an accountant, but I believe the reports use the basic accounting equation: Net worth = Assets - Liabilities. In that light the WBCCI had a net worth (as a business) of $1,068,897 in 1999 and $796,703 in 2009, only a loss of $272,194!
So again, I take ownership of the error and apologize, but I hope it doesn't become a fixation for anyone.
